‘Habagat’ brings intermittent rains over western section of Luzon, Visayas

The western section of Luzon and Visayas will continue to experience occasional rains on Monday, due to the effects of the southwest monsoon or “hanging habagat”, according to Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

The southwest monsoon or “hanging habagat” — which is associated with the occurrence of intermittent to continuous rains — is the prevailing wind system during the rainy season.

For Monday forecast, PAGASA said Panay Island and the provinces of Zambales, Bataan, Mindoro and Palawan will experience occasional rains while the rest of the country including Metro Manila will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms.

It added moderate to strong winds coming from the southwest will prevail over Luzon and its coastal waters will be moderate to rough.

Light to moderate winds blowing from the southwest will prevail over Visayas and from the southwest to west over Mindanao with slight to moderate seas.

Meanwhile, PAGASA weather forecaster Buddy Javier said they are not anticipating any weather disturbance to develop into tropical cyclone that will affect the country until Wednesday.

Javier said PAGASA still expects one to two more storms to hit the country before the end of the month.

He noted that the next tropical cyclone that will visit the country will be named “Florita.”

Next month, he said the state weather bureau is expecting three to four storms to hit the country.

Every year, an average of about 18 to 20 storms affect the Philippines, according to the PAGASA. PNA